Lioscorpius
Genus of fishes
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Lioscorpius is a genus of marine ray-finned fish, belonging to the subfamily Setarchinae, the deep-sea bristly scorpionfishes, part of the family Scorpaenidae. They are native to the western Pacific Ocean.
| Lioscorpius | |
|---|---|
| |
| Lioscorpius longiceps | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Perciformes |
| Family: | Scorpaenidae |
| Subfamily: | Setarchinae |
| Genus: | Lioscorpius Günther, 1880 |
| Type species | |
| Lioscorpius longiceps Günther, 1880[1] | |
Taxonomy
Lioscorpiusas formally described as a genus in 1880 by the German-born British ichthyologist Albert Günther when he described what was then its only species, L. longiceps, from the Kai Islands in the Banda Sea in Indonesia.[1][2] The genus name Lioscorpius is a compound of lio, meaning "smooth", Gunther described the head of L. longiceps "with scarcely any ridges or spines", and scorpius which means "scorpion", indicating that this is a scorpionfish.[3]
Species
Characteristics
Lioscorpius scorpionfishes have a preorbital bone which has a very small first spine. A long projection above the preorbital covers its articulating surface. The rearmost 2-3 spines in the dorsal fin are small and are often embedded in the skin. They have a well developed swimbladded and a large gas gland. They have more slender bodies than related genera within the Setarchinae, the depth being around a quarter of the standard length, they also have a thin space between the eyes.[5] The two species within the genus are distinguished by L. longiceps having 2 spines and 6 soft trays in its anal fin and L. trifasciatus having 3 spines and 5 soft rays in its anal fin.[6]
Distribution and habitat
Lioscorpius scorpionfishes are found in the western Pacific from Japan south to Australia, including Vanuatu, New Caledonia and Fiji.[4][6] They are described as bathydemersal (L. longiceps) or benthopelagic (L. trifasciatus) and are found at depths of between 180 and 410 m (590 and 1,350 ft).[4]